The calendar read November and the basketball game fell under the category of nonconference.

But the University of Delaware and visiting Louisiana Tech played like it was February and the stakes were high Monday night at the Carpenter Center.

That made the Blue Hens’ 75-71 victory particularly satisfying in the three-team, three-game Delaware Invitational, in which defending Southern Conference champ UNC-Greensboro had beaten Delaware Friday and Louisiana Tech Saturday.

Conference USA member Louisiana Tech (4-3) had opened the season with a win at Wichita State and given No. 22-ranked LSU a test during a seven-point defeat.

“I think that’s definitely a statement win, especially after UNCG,” said Delaware senior forward Eric Carter. “We kinda got smacked around [Friday], especially in the second half, so it feels good and hopefully we can get it rolling up to UMES [Friday night] and Columbia [Sunday].’’

Delaware (5-2) prevailed behind strong shooting, balanced scoring and a steady 40-minute effort. Neither team led by more than seven and there were six ties and six lead changes.

“I do think games like this, like Friday night, really prepare us for conference play,” coach Martin Ingelsby said.

Sophomore guard Ryan Allen, the 2018 CAA rookie of the year, remains sidelined until mid-December after an October foot surgery.

Delaware led from late in the first half, including 35-33 at halftime, until Derric Jean’s 3-pointer pushed the Bulldogs ahead 57-56 with 7:18 to go. Oliver Powell’s driving layup then made it 59-56, but Louisiana Tech was called for a technical foul afterward for profanity.

Horton then drained the two free throws and Veretto buried a 3-pointer off Bryant’s assists as the shot clock expired to ignite a 10-2 UD run.

“The one thing I love about this team is we have more weapons than we’ve had,” Ingelsby said.

Back-to-back driving layups by Anderson with 2:44 and 2:21 left extended Delaware’s lead to 72-66. Louisiana Tech failed to score on three straight subsequent possessions.

“Really proud of how we executed on both ends of the floor down the stretch,” Ingelsby said.

Each team shot 55.3 percent (26-for-47) from the field, 3-point aim was nearly even – Delaware was 7-for-16 to the visitors’ 8-for-17 – and Louisiana Tech had just a 23-22 rebound edge. The difference was at the foul line, where Delaware was 16-for-21 to the Bulldogs’ 11-for-11.

“They’re a good team that plays hard,” Bryant said. “They go far in their conference every year, so to be able to get that win at home for us in front our fans was a great confidence booster.”